Misunderstood
by LeelaSmall
Summary: "I couldn't stand to see him like that; it brought back too many bad memories. Memories which I never wanted to remember again. I hated seeing children cry, ever since what happened all those years ago in that very place." (Set during the second game)


**"** Three... two... one... yes! Finally!"

The clock struck twelve, its mock version of the Big Ben chime echoing through the otherwise silent and empty halls of the pizzeria. Everything was still quiet, but soon the small children's restaurant would be full of life once again. It was finally that time when we could roam the halls freely without anyone to stop us.

I stretched my arms up, letting out a loud moan as I loosened my limbs. I felt like I hadn't moved for hours. Well, technically, I really hadn't moved for hours, but it felt like it had been longer this this time. Prize Corner was completely silent, and that annoyed me to no end. The last night guard we had quit a few days ago, so there was no one in the office to wind up my music box. My spot was so boring now… although I really didn't understand why each night guard only worked for five nights. Was it part of their contract, or was that just all they could take? Who knows…

I decided to go for a stroll, or a 'float', in my case. I freed myself from the strings attached to my arms and legs, just as I did each night, and exited my box. A yawn escaped my lips as I slowly glided across the dining area, noticing how Freddy was no longer on his stage. I had no particular destination in mind; I just felt like wandering around. Besides having no music, the lack of a night guard made the night extremely monotonous. Scaring them was our number one source of entertainment, and even if I didn't participate in that activity as often as the other animatronics, I would be lying if I didn't say that was fun.

I don't really know what compelled me to do so, but I ended up floating into the men's toilets. I was a robot, thus not having any of the humans' bodily functions, but I had the need to go in there from time to time to examine my appearance in the mirror. Unlike the rest of the animatronics, I wore a costume, so I needed to make sure it was still on right. I inspected my mask thoroughly in the mirror, paying close attention to any imperfections that might be present. I am an almost pathological perfectionist, and could spend hours doing this. This time, however, my facial examination was drastically cut short.

I had just adjusted my mask, which was crooked by a few inches, when I heard something I had not heard in a very long time; something I wish I didn't have to hear ever again: a crying child.

I immediately turned towards the stalls behind me, where the sound enacted from, and as I paid close attention I found out it was coming from the last one on my right. It was impossible to have a kid there at those hours, so that meant…

"Balloon Boy?" I called out as I knocked softly on the door, jumping a bit as I heard my own voice echo through the tile walls. "Is that you?"

The sobbing suddenly stopped, and I heard sniffling and rustling noises coming from the other side. He must've been recomposing himself.

"Puppet?" I heard is young voice ask, noticing out it sounded a bit weak. "W-what're you doing here?"

"That's not important. Are you OK?"

He remained silent for a few seconds, as if figuring out if I was trustworthy enough for him to open up to. I placed my gloved hand on the door, patiently awaiting his response.

"N-no…" he finally spoke up with difficulty, clearly on the verge of tears again.

"Why don't you come out here? That way I could help you."

Another moment of silence passed before I heard a click behind the door, indicating it had been unlocked. It slowly opened to reveal what had feared: there was Balloon Boy, a helpless expression on his face along with traces of oil spread down his cheeks and several discarded balls of toilet paper around his feet.

"Hi…" he greeted me in his usual way, but this time with a lot less energy.

"Hey, buddy." I smiled at him as I knelt down to look at him a bit closer. "What's wrong?"

He looked down at his feet, clearly embarrassed about his behavior. I rested my hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me. I gave him another smile as if to say it was OK, to which he stared at my face. His expression seemed to soften a bit and he gulped down, giving his feet another quick glance before facing me again.

"Why does everybody hate me?"

That question shocked me more than it should have, and I felt my face turn even whiter than it already was. I was not expecting that at all.

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like nobody cares about me. All the others treat me like a nobody, and the night guards always call me bad names. Much worse names than they call the others." Small droplets of oil started rolling down his cheeks. "Why? Why do they all hate me? What did I ever do to deserve this?"

He covered his face with his hands and started sobbing away, even harder than before. I myself felt like I was on the verge of tears, but didn't allow myself to shed a single one. Not in front of him.

Of course I knew what he was talking about. I saw it every day, how Freddy and the rest of the gang shunned him and treated him like garbage. They did the same to me, but it was much worse in Balloon Boy's case. I used to think it was because we were the most recent additions to the restaurant, but seeing how they treated their toy versions, who were just as new as us, I realized it was just because we were too different. In BB's case, my guess was, because he was the youngest one in the group, they felt like they could push him around as much as they wanted.

I couldn't stand to see him like that; it brought back too many bad memories. Memories which I never wanted to remember again. I hated seeing children cry, ever since what happened all those years ago in that very place. I carefully wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close, instantly feeling the lubricant that leaked from his eyes soaking my outfit.

"I know exactly how you feel." I whispered as he cried uncontrollably in my embrace. "And don't worry, not everybody hates you."

"Yes they do!" he protested, his voice muffled by my slim shoulder. "Every single one of them."

"I don't hate you."

He quickly pulled away from me and met my gaze with a puzzled expression. I kept my arms around him as he looked at me perplexedly.

"You… you don't?" he asked hesitantly, almost as if he was afraid of my answer.

"Of course not!" I replied with a bright smile.

"Why?"

"Why should I?" I wiped some of the oil on his cheeks with my thumb. "You're a sweet kid, you make children happy by selling them balloons, and you have the most awesome creepy laugh I have ever heard!"

As if to prove my point, he let out one of his trademark giggles, which sent shivers up my spine in a good way. He smiled at me as he as he dried up the oil in the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. I could tell he was feeling much better.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure." I lifted myself up from the floor and extended my hand towards him. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure!" he beamed and grabbed my slender fingers.

We spent the rest of the night in each other's company, walking along the dark hallways and talking about the most random topics. We passed some of the other animatronics, who chose to ignore us, and for once we didn't care. Still, I found it amazing how they could treat me with such disrespect after all I did for them. Balloon Boy was a little bothered at first, but I assured him I would stay by his side no matter what.

We ended up venturing into the security office, and I felt myself grow depressed as we quietly stared at the empty desk in front of us. I also noticed the time on the clock; it was almost 6 AM.

"It feels so quiet in here." BB commented after a while, his tiny robotic hand still in mine. "I don't like it."

"I don't like it either. I hope they get someone new soon. I miss my music."

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" I glanced down at him and saw he was looking at the gap between my legs and the floor.

"The floating thing." He pointed at the empty space to emphasize his question.

"I don't know. I guess I was just programmed this way."

I had never asked myself that. Why exactly did I float instead of walking like the other animatronics? Technically speaking, my legs don't really seem fit to support my own weight. They're way too skinny. But then again, why was I built with such skinny legs to begin with?

While I was distracted with my personal musings the office phone suddenly started ringing. Balloon Boy and I jumped back, startled to hear the electronic device come to life at such an hour. We stared blankly at it as it rang a few more times, and since nobody was there to pick up, the old 80's answering machine next to it rolled its usual audio message.

"The number you have called is not available at the moment." The usual female voice was heard. "Please leave a message after the beep and try again later."

Me and BB cringed at the loud beep that enacted from the device not a second later. After that all we heard was breathing from the person on the other line.

"Uhhh… yeah, hi! I'm sorry to be calling so late… or could this be considered too early? I don't know, but anyway…" a deep male voice spoke from the other side, his carelessness making it clear he wasn't used to talking to an answering machine. "My name is Mark and I saw your ad in the paper, the one saying that you need a night guard to work from midnight to 6 AM? Uhhh… I still have some questions about the role, but if the position is still available, I would like to apply for it. Could you please call me back with an answer later today, if possible? Thanks. Bye!"

He hung up with a click, and as we stared wide-eyed at the phone, both of us had huge grins spreading across our faces.

"Looks like we'll be having a new playmate." I said as Balloon Boy giggled happily and clapped his hands together. I looked at the clock again; we had five minutes until 6 am rolled around. "Come on, I'll take you back to your spot."

I took hold of his hand again and we both started heading down the hallway we had taken before. I was stopped in my tracks not long after when I felt myself being pulled back. Turning around, I saw BB standing still, looking up at me with a somewhat hopeful expression.

"Puppet…" he started, and I could've sworn I saw the redness on his cheeks glow. "Can we do this every night from now on?"

I couldn't help but smile at that request. All Balloon Boy ever wanted was a friend, someone he could talk to, play with, someone who would enjoy his company, and he was beginning to consider me such a friend. It warmed my heart, if I had one, to see him so happy.

I brought myself to my knees and pulled into another hug, hug which he returned even tighter than before.

"Sure thing, buddy." I replied as I rubbed my hand on his back. "Sure thing."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE (PLEASE READ)**

 **My first Five Nights at Freddy's fanfic and I couldn't be more proud! :D**

 **I wanted to write one for a long time, but I didn't know what about. The Puppet is my favorite animatronic, so I guess it made perfect sense to write about him. And I really do think Balloon Boy is misunderstood; I for one think he's an awesome character! He is the one thing that I've always loved in horror movies and games: a creepy child. Whenever there's creepy children in horror movies I feel twice as scared. And I love his laugh. I should try to get that as a ringtone…**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and please leave your thoughts in the Review section. ^^**

 **By the way, who got the reference near the end? ;)**

 ***brofist***

 **~LeelaSmall**


End file.
